Tonga's chief justice, Anthony Ford, sentenced Monday 30-year Ma'ake Kali to seven years in jail for his role in last November's riots that destroyed much of the center of the capital, Nuku'alofa.
The local news service, Matangitonga, said the sentence is the first to be handed down in relation to the riots.
Last month, a jury found Kali guilty of being the ringleader of a crowd of more than 200 who destroyed the Chinese-owned Rainbow Store on Nov. 16, 2006.
In sentencing Kali, the chief justice said that rioters wouldn' t be tolerated and should be punished accordingly.
Kali was given a four-year jail term in 2001 for trafficking drugs.
A state of emergency on the island of Tongatapu, which has been extended eight times, is due to expire later this week.
Source: Xinhua
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